History of Emory
 
As its name suggests, the community of Emory is by its location and its history closely identified with Emory & Henry College, which was founded in 1836. The college was named for Bishop John Emory of the Methodist Church and for Patrick Henry, the colonial patriot. As the surrounding farmland gradually became a village, the community was laid off by avenues named for famous universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, and by streets named for trees such as Maple and Beech. An excellent example of an early log house may be seen at Tobias Smyth House on the college campus. Originally located a mile north, this house was the setting in which the original plans for the location of the school were made by the Rev. Mr. Creed Fulton and Mr. Smyth.    
Tobias Smyth Cabin
 
 
    Before the coming of the railroad in 1856, people usually traveled by some form of horsepower. The first president of the college came from New England by a variety of means to Richmond; from there he took a canal boat to Lynchburg, finally arriving at Emory by stagecoach. Later in the century, travelers to Abingdon from Emory often made the 10-mile, two-hour journey in horse drawn buggies.

The first students carried wood for the fireplaces in their rooms. Water was brought from a fine spring that still flows into the present "duck pond." One student wrote to his "Ma" is 1860: "I think boarding at college suits me best. At Mrs. Smith's (off campus) we lived too luxurious for students....Here the fare is not good, that is, plain but well-suited for students. I live on corn bread and milk." He also noted that "we have anticipated at trip to the Salt Works, in company with 8 or 10 ladies...but have been disappointed every Sunday by bad weather." (Emory & Henry did not become co-educational until the early 1930s)
Reverend Creed Fulton
 
 

Some of the first college buildings, like Byars Hall and Collins House that still are in use, were constructed from brick made of clay taken from the site of the current football field; thick walls assured both more warmth and cooler temperatures in season. Slave labor probably was used for some of the construction.

One of the college's most famous students was J.E.B. ("Jeb") Stuart, who earned fame as a leading Confederate general. Some of his correspondence, as well as autographs and letters of other famous persons, may be seen at Kelly Library. During the Civil War, the main co-building was used as a hospital. There are many stories about patients from both Blue and Gray who were treated there, including ghost stories.

The first elementary school for the community was built in 1840, and the first post office was opened in 1847. Itta Bena Road, which crosses the wooded ridge near the golf course, recalls the name of the small school once located there and named by its first teacher for her hometown in Mississippi.

    
General J.E.B. Stuart
 
 

A new railroad station was constructed in 1912; today it serves as an art gallery. Among the distinctions earned in recent years by the liberal arts college that still forms the center of a small residential community is the record number of graduates who were a part of the pioneering work of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

By calling the college's office of Public Relations at (276) 944-6130 arrangements may be made to visit Tobias Smyth House and other historic buildings on campus, to visit the archives and special book collections in Kelly Library, or to be shown the historic Confederate military cemetery.

By G.C. Culberson and Dan Leidig for the Washington County News